RWBY Semblances (one-shot)
by RedLionPaladin
Summary: A series of short stories about the RWBY character's semblances. Chapters with spoilers will be marked. I do not own RWBY or the characters.
1. Rose Petals (SPOILERS)

Hi! Red Lion Paladin here! So I desired to make a RWBY fan fiction about the character's semblances. I am also making a Voltron Legendary Defender Fan fiction called Voltron-The New Reality. If you read it it would mean a lot to me. Anywho, enough boring - junk let us begin.

Rose Petals

Spoilers

Ruby Rose thrust up Crescent Rose to block her uncle's downward thrust. She felt the hit reverberate through her arms. She swung her scythe down trying to catch him off guard. He leapt to the side and swung his sword, hitting her in the side of the head with its hilt. Then he kicked Crescent Rose, causing Ruby to lose her balance. She fell back onto the dirt, rubbing the side of her head. Qrow helped her to her feet. "If you want to be a huntress, you have to be quicker than that." Ruby glared at him.

"I tried!" she said. "You move faster than I do! And that hurt!" They had been training together in a clearing near Ruby's house all day and she was getting bad tempered. It was like every time she tried to train around Qrow something happened. She would trip on a tree root, sneeze, and have a fruit fall on her head or trip again on the same tree root! She was getting very annoyed.

"Next time," Qrow said, "try to duck; you don't need to use your scythe to block every hit." Ruby nodded.

"Right," she said. Qrow suddenly lunged forward, Ruby gave a small scream and leaped back, stumbling over the same, stupid tree root! She slammed Crescent Rose into the dirt floor, leaped on its side and fired her rifle at Qrow. He leaped around her bullets and dashed at Ruby, swinging Harbinger. Ruby jumped backwards, grabbing her scythe as she did, wrenching it out of the dirt. She swung it, just in time to block another of her uncle's attacks. Ruby blocked attack after attack stepping backwards as she did. As they neared the trees, Ruby's hands tightened on her weapon. _I really hope this works_ she thought. She leaped backwards onto a tree, and then lunged forward catching Qrow off guard. He leaped back just in time to avoid being hit, and then swung his sword against his back to block Ruby's thrust from behind.

"Nice move kid!" he said smiling. Ruby jumped back as he lashed the air in fount of her. She swung her scythe at him. Firing as she did to increase its speed. Qrow leaped over it and slammed his elbow into her gut. Ruby grunted and fell to the floor. She stared up at the sky feeling dazed. Qrow leaned over her.

"You left your stomach open to attack," he said.

"Noticed," Ruby grunted. He helped her to her feet again.

"Ruby," he said as she picked up Crescent Rose from off the dirt, "if you want to be a huntress someday you have to at least be able to hit me. We've been doing this for months - you haven't landed a single hit!"

"Not true!" she said turning to him. "I managed to hit you that one time when your sword got stuck in a rock!" Qrow glared at her.

"Yah! One hit! One hit will not take out a pack of beowolves!" he said. Qrow sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face.

"Point is Tai won't let you attend Beacon if you can't even hit me when I'm not even trying! He barley let Yang even have that as an option, and _her_ semblance is active!" Ruby sighed.

"I know," she said, hanging her head. Qrow sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said, "you can do this kid, I know you can. You're strong. By the time I'm done with you Beacon will be begging to have you with them!" Ruby looked up at him and smiled. Qrow smiled back. Ruby tightened her grip on her scythe and nodded.

"I'm not gonna get to Beacon standing here!" she said hitting its hilt into the ground.

"I don't know," Qrow said,."That scythe _looks_ terrifying! Whoever helped you build it really knew what they were doing! They might just let you in for that!" Ruby gently rubbed Crescent Rose.

"Yeah," she said dreamily. "I love my sweet, little Crescent Rose"

"I wouldn't call it little," Qrow said, shifting his weapon from sword to scythe. "But it's almost as awesome as mine."

"_What! No it is not! Mine is way better!_" Qrow laughed and rubbed her hair then he walked across the clearing, stopping at the other side, turning around and readied his scythe.

"Any time you're ready kid!" he called. Ruby took a deep breath, and fired bullet after bullet from her sniper rifle. Empty shells rained around her. Qrow leaped around the bullets using his scythe to block about half, all while running towards her. Right when he was in her range Ruby stopped firing and swung her scythe, careful to block her stomach this time. Qrow caught his scythe with hers and swung them both upwards. Ruby stumbled back and leaped as her uncle spun the hilt of his weapon at her. He spun it in his hands and swung at her with a sideways cut. Ruby watched it sail towards her but time seamed to freeze. She felt something come over her, a feeling she had never felt before. Without knowing what she was doing Ruby ran right at Qrow before he could react.

Qrow tried to swing his scythe up before it hit his niece, but right before it did a flash of red exploded around her. She turned into a red, swirling tornado of rose petals and twirled around him. "What the…" Then suddenly his legs were swiped out from under him. He landed on the forest floor with a thump. Rose petals drifted down around him. Ruby leaned over him and grinned.

"Got you!" she said brightly. Qrow looked at her in shock.

"How did you… " he whispered. She shrugged

"Don't know. Just followed my instincts."

"Ruby," Qrow said standing up. "You just turned into rose petals."

"Is that what happened?" Ruby asked cocking her head in confusion. Qrow reached up and grabbed one of the falling rose petals.

"I think you just used your semblance…" he said in shock.

"What?" Ruby said. Qrow looked at her and showed her the petal he was holding.

"You just turned into rose petals is front of my eyes," he said. "Last I checked people don't just do that." A stunned silence followed. Qrow rubbed the petal between is fingers, it felt like an actual rose petal.

"I've been wondering when it was going to activate," he said, "although turning into a swirling vortex of petals is not what I expected." Ruby was just silent. She didn't say a word.

"Wow," Qrow remarked. "Nothing? I thought you would be running…"

Suddenly he was shoved aside by a swirling red cloud. Ruby jumped in front of him screaming _"I'm gonna be a huntress! I'm gonna be a huntress!" _She flashed past him again, nearly pushing him over. "_I'm gonna be a hunt…"_ she was cut off mid-word by another rose petaling, "_tress! I'm gonna be" _flash "_a huntress!"_ flash. Qrow watched her in amusement, avoiding her when she got too close. His smile turned into a frown when he saw how close she was getting to the trees.

"Ruby," he called, "you should probably…"

"_I'm going to Beacon!"_ Ruby shouted interrupting him.

"Ruby," he tried again.

"_I'm gonna kill grimm!"_

"Ruby!"

"_I'm gonna be a huntress!_"

"_Ruby! You need to…" _suddenly Ruby came out of a rose petaling to slam against a tree. Qrow winced and sighed. He walked to her leaned down.

"You good there kid?" he asked. A large red lump was already forming on her head. She opened her eyes and stared up at him smiling.

"My semblance activated" she said. Qrow chuckled and helped her to her feet.

"You should probably go tell Tye," he said smiling. Ruby gasped.

"Oh my gosh your right!" she shouted. She turned and began running up the path leading to her house.

"Race you the…" she was cut off by another rose pealing. Qrow looked after her smiling, _she should probably get control over that…" _he thought to himself. He waited for a few seconds then glanced around making sure no one was watching. He took a few running steps and turned into his bird form flying over the trees and spotted Ruby on the forest trail. He flew over her as she ran, well, mostly rose petaling, slamming into every other tree in her path. He winced inwardly every time she did.

As they neared her house Qrow dipped down to the forest floor, turning back into his human form, stumbling slightly as he did from the momentum of flight.

Ruby ran to her house, excitement pushing adrenaline through her. "Dad, dad, dad!" she called. Tai slammed the front door open.

"Ruby?" he called, worry in his voice. "Ruby what happed? Are you hurt?"

"Dad!" Ruby shouted. She ran forward, her semblance activating as she did. Tai stumbled back in shock as Ruby launched herself at him after rose petaling across from where she stood.

"Dad!" she cried again, flinging her arm around him. "My semblance, my semblance - it activated! I can turn into rose petals!" Tye's eyes widened in shock. He hugged her back.

"Ruby that's amazing!" he said smiling, "I'm so proud of you!" Qrow walked out of the woods with his bottle in his hand and a slight smile on his face. Tye's smile faltered slightly then returned.

"Hey Ruby," he said. "Come on, let's go tell Yang, she's gonna be so happy for you." Ruby nodded.

"Come on!" she said, dragging her father into their house. "I promised she would be one of the first people I told when my semblance activated!" Ruby ran into the house and shouted out Yang's name. She walked out of her room with a hair brush in one hand.

"What's up?" she asked, her hand reaching up to brush her hair.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted. She ran towards her, planning on hugging her just as she done with her father. Right before she reached her sister, her semblance activated and she rushed past in a flurry of roses. Ruby slammed against the wall, and fell on the floor groaning slightly. Yang span around.

"What the heck!" Yang shouted. "What just…how did…Ruby are you ok?" Ruby sat up rubbing her head.

"My semblance Yang!" she shouted, a huge grin on her face, "that was my semblance! It activated! Just like yours!" Yang looked at her in shock.

"That was your semblance! Ruby that's amazing!" she ran forward and threw her arms around her, lifting her off the floor with her hug.

"Yang!" Ruby gasped. "I can't breathe!" Just then a small black and white dog waddled in and barked up at Ruby.

"Zwi!" Ruby shouted, rose petaling out of Yang's hug.

Yang watched Ruby shoot around Zwi smiling. "You know what this calls for? Ruby, I'm gonna bake you a cake!" Ruby gasped and fist bumped the air.

"You're the best sister ever!" she shouted.

A few days later Ruby stood in front of her mother's grave. "Hi mom," she said. "I know it's been a while since I talked to you. Things have been super busy. Anyway I have some pretty big news I wanted to tell you. My semblance activated! Isn't that awesome! I turn into rose petals and zoom around super fast. It's so cool! I don't have a lot of control over it yet. I keep hitting things." She rubbed her forehead where a large bruise sat. "Dad said I might be able to go to Beacon because my semblance activated. But I still have to get better at using Crescent Rose. At least now I can actually hit Qrow when we practice so that's an improvement." Ruby stared at the grave in silence for a while. "It's really great talking to you mom," she said. "I miss you" She leaned down and placed the white rose she had been holding on to the grave. Then she turned and walked back into the woods.


	2. Perfect Little Heir

**Perfect Little Heir**

Weiss Schnee looked sadly out her window, fingers thumbing the SDC shipping log from that month. She had read and re-read it thousands of times and almost had it memorized. But for all her reading she had still managed to mess up when an important guest had arrived at their manor. Her father had asked her to tell the guest the number of chests of dust they had delivered that month - the numbers were huge, climbing to the hundreds. Weiss had proudly proclaimed the high numbers with exact detail…until the wind dust. She mis-said the number by one then had quickly corrected herself realizing the mistake. Her father had yelled at her and locked her in her room until she had the entire book memorized. _He is right you know _she thought to herself,_ you are the heir to the Schnee Dust Company you can't afford to make silly mistakes!_ But a part of her felt…annoyed…as if she was trying to convince herself. "Now that's just ridiculous!" she snapped, "It's not like he asked you to count each dust crystal yourself! He just wants you to read the book." She shook her head and returned to her reading. Suddenly there was a knock at her door.

"Enter," she said. The door was pushed open to reveal Winter standing on the other side.

"Winter!" Weiss said in surprise, "I though you would be packing to leave for Atlas" Winter was leaving in only a week for Atlas, Weiss had been with her when she had told their father. He had been furious and had yelled so loudly Weiss's ears rung. She had shrunk down in fear at her father's tone. But Winter, she had been completely unphased, as if she didn't even care. Even when her father had revoked her rights to the Schnee Dust Company and made Weiss the future leader, she hadn't even filched. Then she had simply turned and walked out of his office. Weiss didn't understand it - Winter used to be the future leader of SDC, a privilege, a right, a title of greatness, and she hadn't even cared when her father had stripped that away from her. If Winter wasn't the head of SDC then….who was she, just another commoner?

Winter walked into Weiss's room, closing the door behind her, and locking it. She turned towards Weiss. "I wanted to talk to you," she said smiling "as sisters." Weiss blinked in surprise, Winter hardly ever talked so…freely.

"Al…alright," Weiss said, placing the SDC Shipping Log on her night stand. Winter sat down on her bed and gestured Weiss to sit down with her. Weiss hesitated then sat down beside her. Winter put her hand on Weiss's and stared into her eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you before I leave for Atlas," she said. "I know you've always looked up to Huntresses. How brave they are, how strong. I need you to be just like that when I leave. Strong. Brave. Father isn't the man you think he is." Weiss looked at her in shock and retracted her hands.

"What are you saying?" she asked. Winter took a deep breath.

"Weiss," she said, "don't trust father, don't believe a word he says. He's not the man he says he is. Who the world says he is. You don't have to follow him. You are not his pet. He can't control you if you don't let him." Weiss stood up.

"Enough!" she shouted. "Father is exactly who he says he is. He's simply doing what's best for his company!" Winter sighed and stood up.

"You'll understand some day Weiss," she said. "Just remember what I said." She hesitated before she continued. "I have something to give you. Meet me in the courtyard at night fall." Then she turned, unlocked the door, and walked out. Weiss looked after her and shook her head. Winter always said the strangest things.

That night Weiss walked out into the courtyard. She stared up at the ice sculpture of the Schnee family heirloom. The courtyard was strangely quiet. Then she noticed something, Winter's sword leaned against the heirloom. Weiss walked up and grabbed it, looking at in confusion. Surely Winter wasn't giving her the sword, she would need it in Atlas. "Winter?" Weiss called. "Are you there?" Silence. Suddenly she heard a sound, a low angry growl. She span around to see a Grimm advance from the darkness. A white Grimm, trailing blue tendrils. Weiss instantly recognized it as a beowolf, an unnatural beowolf, one made by a Schnee semblance. She stumbled back, her heart beating in fear.

"_Winter!_" Weiss screamed. "_Winter help!"_ The beowolf advanced, slowly, deliberately. She griped Winter's sword tightly, holding it in front of her hoping, but knowing it won't keep the beowolf away. Suddenly the beowolf charged forward, charging strait towards her. Weiss ran as fast as she could. But she couldn't out run it. She could hear its breath, closer, _closer_. Her heart hammered in her chest furled by panic.

"_Help!" _she screamed. "_Someone! Help me!"_ But no one came, no one could hear her cries. She span around just in time to see the beowolf leap out at her, its horrible claws outstretched. Suddenly time seamed to freeze. Weiss felt something click in her brain. She flung out her hand screaming, her eyes closed. She felt something fly out of her and into the air, she heard the beowolf's startled cry. No claws sank into her. She felt no pain. Slowly, shakily, she opened her eyes, and gasped in shock. The beowolf was suspended in the air. Its claws wavering helplessly, suspended by a black glyph. Weiss looked around in shock; no one else was in the courtyard. But still, the Grimm was suspended in the air, a glyph behind it. She looked down at her own hands. "Did…did I do that?" she asked out loud. She looked at the glyph in the air and pointed a shaky hand up. The glyph flickered. Weiss took a deep breath and pushed the glyph away. It faded as if it had never been there. The Grimm fell to the floor, fading into dust.

The courtyard was again silent. Weiss looked down at her hands, a smile flickering on her lips. She laid her sister's sword back where she had found it and walked back inside.

Jacque Schnee growled at Weiss's empty plate - breakfast had started an hour ago and there was still no sight of her. "Winter!" he snapped. "Where is your sister?" Winter glared at him.

"I don't know," she snapped back. "Weiss is her own person. I don't control her anymore then you control me." Jacque glared at her.

"How dare you speak to me that…" Suddenly the dining hall doors flew open and Weiss rushed in. She brushed her fingers though her hair, her eyes instinctually trailed towards her mother's chair, feeling the all too familiar stab of pain at finding it empty.

"Sorry father," she said sitting down in her chair. "I was practicing and I lost track of time."

"Practicing?" Her father snapped, "practicing what? I expect the future leader of the Schnee Dust Company to understand the meaning of punctuality!' Weiss glanced at Winter's face – that last comment that had clearly been a jab at her. Winter simply drank her tea and acted like she hadn't heard him. Weiss slumped in her chair and looked down at her crystal white plate.

"My semblance activated last night and I was practicing using it in my room," she said reluctantly. Silence followed.

"Your semblance activated," her father suddenly said, "well then let's see it. Weiss nodded and stood up, taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and concentrated. A small white glyph appeared under the flower pot in the middle of the table, the pot slowly moved across the table until it rested in front of Jacque. Weiss opened her eyes, panting. Jacque smiled.

"I shall inform the media immediately," he said. "I'm sure the world will be fascinated to hear that my daughter has activated her semblance." Weiss sat down in her chair. Winter looked at her smiling, Weiss found herself smiling back.

After the meal was finished, Winter was walking to her room, she had been spending most of her time there. It was a refuge, one she soon wouldn't need. "Winter!" Weiss suddenly called behind her. Winter froze turned around to face her.

"I wanted to thank you for last night," her sister said smiling. "I know that was your beowolf." Winter smiled and nodded.

"I wanted to give you one last thing to remember me by," she said smiling. "Weiss, I know you've always wanted to be a huntress, even if you've never said so out loud. Now you can. With your semblance activated you'll be able to attend any huntress school you want." Weiss looked at her in shock.

"But…father! He'd never let me!" Winter looked at her sadly.

"But _you_ want to," she said, "father can't control everything you do Weiss. Sometimes you have to fight for what you want."

Weiss watched Winter walk into her room, she shook her head and sighed. Winter always did say the strangest things.

A week later Winter was boarding the small airship that would take her and all her belongings straight to her new job, her new life. A life where Weiss was only a side character. Weiss felt tears on her face. Winter walked forward and hugged their mother. "I'm so proud of you," Weiss heard her whisper. "You're finally following your own path."  
"I had you to teach me." Winter whispered back. Then she turned and looked at Weiss. Suddenly Weiss didn't care if anyone was watching, she didn't care her father could see her. She ran forward and hugged her sister, tears streaming from her face. Winter hugged her back.

"Weiss," she said, "I want you to take care of Whitley." Suddenly her voice dropped to a whisper, "Remember, he doesn't own you. You follow your own path. You are your own person." Then she stepped back and hugged their five-year-old brother.

"Goodbye Whitley," she said. "I love you." Then she turned, and without even glancing at her father walked up the ramp and into the ship. Weiss stood watching it until she could no longer see it. Then she turned and walked back in the Manor, thinking of what she had said. Winter always did say the strangest things.

But for some reason those strange words suck with Weiss. She thought about them constantly, trying to make sense of them. As she practiced using her semblance she would constantly find herself thinking about how she would use this as a huntress. How she could use it to help so many people.

One night, about a month after Winter had left, Weiss was laying in her bed, thinking about her words. As she lay she twirled a glyph in the air. The moonlight streamed in though her window as her thoughts drifted to being a huntress. She could see herself standing, sword in hand, glyph being her, bringing honor to the Schnee family name. _You follow your own path._ _You are own person_. "My own person," Weiss whispered. Suddenly she sat up, and without knowing what she was doing she walked to her father's study and knocked on the door.

"Enter," her father's voice called from beyond the door. Weiss pushed the door open and walked over to where he sat behind his desk.

"Father," Weiss said, "I want to be a huntress."


	3. Shadows

**Shadows**

Blake Belladonna walked through the filthy city streets. Her arms folded over her chest, cat ears drooped. She stared down, thinking about yesterday's peaceful Faunus right movement. Or at least it had started peaceful. As usual her father had led the White Fang as a mob though the streets, each holding signs or shouting. They all had the same message: 'We are human too.' Blake, as always, was in the front of the mob, trying to push down that little voice insider her that kept saying, "You've done this before, hundreds of time. Why will this one be any different?" But this time was different. Some of the White Fang members had been in fights with humans, fights where the human didn't get out alive. They had all been in self-defense, accidents. Or at least she told herself they were. The White Fang had been waving their banners, when suddenly a voice shouted out from the crowd of humans that always came to watch, like vultures circling over a kill. The human, standing on a car, had begun shouting down at the Faunas.

"The White Fang are nothing but terrorists! How many of us have to be killed before we push these _animals_ back in their place?" The cry had been taken up by almost every human who had gathered.

"_Go back to the dust mines! It's where you belong!"_

"_You're nothing but animals pretending to be human!"_

"_How many humans are you planning on killing? Enough so we finally treat you like one of us?"_

"_Go back to your island, you filthy beasts! That place is more than you deserve!"_ The cries of outrage had continued, but it only made the Faunus shout louder, now directed at the humans. Then it had gotten worse. A human had thrown a fruit. A simple round fruit. It had splattered against Blake's dad's head. More humans began to throw objects – fruit, pebbles, nothing harmful. Then the human who had been standing on the car became angry and threw a large stone into the swarm of Faunas, a stone large enough to cause damage. It had slammed against a Faunus who stood beside Blake. A small, weak mouse Faunas. With a cry of pain she had crumpled to the ground. Blood pouring out of her head where the stone had hit. Blake had instantly leaned down and picked her up, cradling the mouse Faunus in her arms. Panic swept through her.

"Dad!" she had shouted. "Help! They hit Violet!" Her father span around, gently feeling her heartbeat.

"Hey look," the human from the car shouted. "I hit a vermin! Someone get rid of the body before it spreads disease!" That had been the last straw for the White Fang. They charged forward, yelling in rage. Blake heard screams of pain coming from both sides. The pavement became wet with blood. Blood that stained her hands.

She wiped her hands on her tights, as if she could still feel it. _Maybe Faunus were meant to live in shadows_ she thought, reaching up to feel her cat ears. Suddenly a hand grabbed her and flung her into a dark alleyway, her enhanced reflexes kept her from falling. She stumbled back, hitting a wall, her enhanced night vision helping her see the figures that stepped out the shadows. Two of them, both male, both human. She flinched hearing the sharp _click_ of a switch blade. "What do we have here?" one asked. "It looks like we caught ourselves a little stray cat." They advanced, grinning coldly.

"Does the little cat have lien?"

"It better," the other one grumbled. "After what that stupid bull did to me yesterday it would only be right that Faunus pay." Bull Faunas? _Adam_ Blake thought. She stared at the red stained bandage wrapped around the man's arm.

"Please," Blake whispered, "it…it was only in self-defense." The men laughed.

"Tell me," one man asked to the other. "If you're about to slaughter a pig and it charged into your knees, knocking you over, do you let the pig keep running or do you chase after it and slaughter in anyways?" The second man laughed.

"You kill it."

"And tell me, what's the difference between that and right now?" The second man gave a cold grin.

"Instead of a pig, it's a black cat." They continued advancing, grinning as they did. Blake pressed her back against the wall, her mind flying through her options. Running was out. The wall was too high to climb; she had left her weapon at home.

"Please," she said, "I don't have any lien!" The men sighed.

"Well isn't that a shame," the one with the bandage said. "Guess I'll have to settle for revenge for my arm. Last I checked, it wasn't illegal to beat up animals." Suddenly he charged forward, swinging his fist. Blake leaped to the side, barley avoiding the hit. The second man swung, slamming his fist into her shoulder. Blake slammed against the stonewall of the alley, gasping. The man pulled his fist back to hit again, but before he could Blake felt something in her brain snap into place. She rolled forward, feeling something leave her body. But before the man's fist passed through it, she saw herself, or at least a version of her, frozen, empty. The man's fist passed through it and it faded into dust.

"What the!" the man shouted. Blake didn't to see what the men did. She ran. Pushing past people, desperate to get away from her attackers. She heard them from behind her, panting as they ran.

"Blake!" a voice shouted. "Over here!" She span to her right and looked up to see Adam Taurus standing on the roof top, black cloth covering his eyes.

"There's a garbage bin around the next turn! They won't be able to follow you up it " Blake nodded and looked back just in time to see one of her attackers try to grab her shoulder. She leaped backwards, catching another glimpse of a hollow version of herself before it too faded into dust, disturbed by the man's hand. Then she turned and ran. She ran around the sharp corner, the garbage bin sitting right were Adam had said. Blake turned, hearing their sharp angry voices behind her.

"Blake!" Adam shouted. She turned back to see him holding his hand out above the large black garbage.

"Run! I'll catch you!" Blake ran towards the garbage. She leaped of top of the bin, and jumped forward, grasping Adam's out stretched hand. He helped pull her up onto the roof, but not before she slammed painfully against the wall. As soon as she as she was on the roof, Adam pulled her into a hug. Blake leaned against him, panting. She pulled away, looking at him in confusion.

"Why…were you on the roof?" She asked. Adam shrugged.

"Probably doing the same thing you were doing as you walked. Trying to clear my head after yesterday. I heard you call out, so I ran over to see what was wrong. I was about to help you out. But you did that thing; you made a clone of yourself or something. Do you think that was your semblance?" Blake thought about it, then nodded.

"I think it was." Despite everything that had happened she felt a smile creep onto her face. Adam smiled back. Suddenly she heard a loud shout from the street, she turned towards the sound.

"You can run Faunas. But we will find you!" Blake sighed and looked at Adam.

"We need to leave," she said. "It won't be long until they figure out a way to get up here." Adam nodded.

"Follow me."

Adam led her to a flat toped roof overlooking the city. It wouldn't be long until Blake's father and the rest of the White Fang traveled back to the Faunus island Menagerie. They had only come to make a statement regarding Faunus rights, and to try to employ more members into the White Fang. Both tasks had failed spectacularly. Blake curled her knees up and rested her chin on them, watching the sun dip past the line of buildings. "Adam," she said, her eyes glued to the fire stained sky.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do…do you think we're doing the right thing. It feels like the Faunus should be doing…I don't know. More." Adam sighed.

"To be honest, I don't know. I don't know what's right for the Faunus anymore. I just know I'm sick and tired of living my life in the shadows. And I know the other Faunus are too, even if some are too cowardly to do anything about it. Blake said nothing, her cat ears drooping slightly. She simply stared out into the sky, thoughts whirling in her head.


	4. Flaming Hair

Flaming Hair

Yang Xiao Long walked down her school hallway, letting her hair bonce against her back as she did. Reaching into her satchel she had slung over one shoulder she pulled out her yellow headphones. "Yang!" a voice suddenly called.

"Hey Sky!" she said turning. She paused, waiting for her friend to catch up, returning her headphones back into her bag as she did. Sky had short golden yellow hair, a shade darker than Yang's, she had on tall black boots, tight denim pants, a yellow sleeveless undershirt and a midnight blue sleeveless vest with silver buttons. She was one of Yang's best friends.

"So," she said when she had caught up, slightly out of breath. "You ready for next week?" Yang's smile widened.

"Sky, I was born ready!" Both Yang and Sky attended a Hunter preparation school, where they taught basics of Grimm, what it would be like as a Hunter, how to fight, and most importantly, how to build a custom battle-ready weapon. Yang had been gathering parts for weeks on end, and next week the building of their weapons would begin.

"Has your dad decide if he's gonna let you train as a Huntress yet?" Sky asked. Yang sighed and shook her head.

"No," she said, "he told me if I do well on the final exam and get good grades he would _think_ about letting me attend Beacon when I'm old enough." Sky sighed in annoyance.

"Why is he even letting you attend this school then if he's not even planning on letting you go to Beacon?" Yang shrugged.

"He says it important that I understand how to fight Grimm if it ever comes down to it." Sky shook her head in annoyance.

"So unfair," she muttered. Yang looked up at the clock that hung in the school hallway.

"Hey I got to go," she said. "Ruby should be outside the school at this point." Sky smiled.

"Tell her I said hi!" Yang saluted and walked outside to the bench where Ruby was supposed to wait for her. Yang's and Ruby's schools were close enough together that Ruby could walk from one to the other. Then they would proceed to walk home together.

Yang sat and pulled out her headphones again. She gently put them on, making sure she didn't mess up her hair, pulled out her scroll and turned on her music.

As her scroll shuffled through her songs she began to get worried, four minutes had passed and there was no sign of her sister. She stood up, tucking her headphones back into her bag. She followed the path that Ruby walked down to meet up with her. It was almost empty of people. The farther she went the more nervous she became. "Ruby?" she called "Where are you! This isn't funny!" Suddenly she heard someone shout.

"_Yang! Help!_" The shout was filled with fear.

"_Ruby!_" Yang shouted and ran to where she had heard the shout. She ran in-between a set of school buildings and froze. Four kids, about Yang's age were clustered in the ally - two boys, two girls. And in the center of them, huddled on the ground, sobbing was the crumpled form of her sister.

"You wanna call out again?" one of the boys asked. "No one's coming to help you." Yang pulled her hands into fists.

"Hey!" she shouted getting their attention. "Get away from her." The bullies turned and smirked.

"Hey look," one said, "it's the runt's half-sister." A second bully grinned.

"Oh yea. Forgot all about her. Must be pretty easy since her mom did to." Yang flinched back, her fingernails digging inter her skin.

"I said, get away from my sister." The first bully, Yang guessed the leader, spoke again.

"Or what blondie? You'll beat us up? There's four of us and one of you." Yang met his eyes, letting her anger feed her.

"Actually," she said, "there are four dimwitted idiots, who are clearly more talk than fight, and one girl who will someday be a Huntress and is the daughter of a Hunter whose team was one of the top to graduate from Beacon till this day." The bullies smile's faded.

"Your gonna regret that," one said. Yang rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I doubt it." Then she ran forward and slammed her fist into the first bully's face. He stumbled back in shock. The bully next to Yang swung her fist, which she ducked under, then returned the hit with one of her own. Another swung their fist at her, this time she couldn't move fast enough and the first slammed into her gut. She grunted and leaped back to avoid another hit. As she did a bully from behind her kicked behind her knees, she fell to the ground. Yang grabbed a bully's ankle and pulled them down with her. Then she stood. Just to be punched in the face. She stumbled back, retuned the hit, and then kicked the leader as hard as she could right between his legs. He crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain. She span and tried to punch another bully, but someone grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back. Yang cried out and slammed her fist into their arm. They let go crying out. She turned back to the other bully, right as a fist slammed into her face. She stumbled back. A second fist hit her back, a third her shoulder. Yang cried out, desperately trying to block the hits. Someone shoved her from behind. She fell to her knees. But before she could move a fist slammed into her. She crumpled to the ground, instinctually wrapping her arms around her head. _Its better they hurt me than Ruby _she thought. Legs kicked her sides, fists punched her back.

"Maybe next time," the leader said coldly, "you should pick a better fight." A foot slammed into her head. Yang cried out. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, blood pounded in her ears.

"_Get away from her!_" Ruby screamed, launching herself at the leader. He tuned and slammed his fist into her face. Ruby cried out and fell to the ground sobbing. Yang stared at her huddled form. Anger building in her. They could hit _her_. They could bruise _her. _But_ no one _touched her sister. She felt a rage burn in her, a rage she had never felt before. It coursed through her veins, burning, flaming. And she liked it. She let it feed her. And she fed it. Yang pulled her hands into fists and screamed in rage. She felt something explode from her. She herd the bullies slam into the walls crying out in pain. She stood up and glared at the bullies, keeping herself between them and Ruby.

"Y…Yang?" Ruby whispered in shock. The bullies rushed forward, fists flying. Yang ducked, punched, and kicked. The rage burned in her making her faster and stronger. She grabbed the leader's shirt and held him up. Looking into his eyes she saw fear.

"_Never touch my sister again,_" she growled. Then she slammed her fist into his gut sending him flying out of the ally into the path. The bullies looked at her in shock, and then ran after their leader. Yang watched them, panting. Then she closed her eyes and relaxed. The Rage flowing out of her. She turned, put her hand on Ruby's shoulder and looked into her eyes.

"You ok?" she asked. Ruby looked at her with wide eyes and nodded.

"How did you do that?" she asked in shock. "Your hair was glowing. It looked like it was on fire. Your eyes were glowing too. They were red!" She reached up and felt Yang's hair as if to make sure it was still real. Yang looked at her is confusion.

"What do you mean 'on fire?'" she asked. Suddenly Ruby gasped!

"_Was that your semblance!" _she said. Yang looked at her in confusion.

"No, I don't think it was," she said. "It was probably just the lighting. Come on, Dad will be worried if we don't get home on time."

Two months later Yang was walking to the school gym. Crowds of other students and their families walked around her, each talking excitedly. Yang's Dad, Taiyang, put a hand on her shoulder. "You ready?" he asked. Yang swallowed and nodded. Two months previous Yang, and most of the other students had built their weapons using parts they had gathered and had practiced using them for the two months. Now their skills would be put to the test! Each student would fight in and arena-like area, showing their skills against a live Grimm. The results would be filmed and given to whatever school for Hunters they applied for. How well she did here would affect her entire life. Her dad removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Me and Ruby will be in the audience!" he called as he walked away. "Good luck!"

"Don't need it!" Yang called back. Reaching down she gently patted the bag that was slung around her shoulder, feeling the odd shape of her gauntlets inside. She walked inside the back entrance with the other students. Spotting Sky, she sat down next to her. Sky was rubbing her hand over her weapons, two axes that could combine into a quarterstaff- like weapon.

"You nervous?" Yang asked. Sky nodded, her eyes glued to the arena.

"What…what if I do badly?" she said. "What if I can't kill the Grimm? I've always dreamed of becoming a Huntress but what if I can't do it! How are you not nervous?" Yang shrugged.

"I guess I just have _Xiao _much confidence! Get it! Like so much but its Xiao!" Sky groaned.

"Yang! This is not the time for puns! I feel sick!" Yang patted her shoulder.

"Sky," she said, "you've been training your butt off for months! The Grimm won't know what hit them!"

"I hope so," Sky whispered.

They watched fight after fight take place. Each student fought a single Beowulf, previously gathered by a licensed Huntress. Finally Yang's name was called over the loud speakers. She pulled out her gauntlets and slipped them on her wrists. Then she took a deep breath and entered the arena. It was shaped as a large oval and lit by huge fires along the edges. Raised bleachers where stationed around for the people watching. The floor was covered in sand that crunched under her feet as she walked. Looking around Yang saw her sister in the crowd, easily picking her out from her bright red cape. Tai, who sat next to her, waved happily.

Suddenly a walled off area between two bleachers opened facing her. A Beowulf growled and charged into the arena roaring angrily. Yang got in her ready stance. The Grimm charged. Yang leaped out of the way, then she turned and punched its back as hard as she could. It fell to the floor. Yang then tried to slam her gauntlet into its head. But the Grimm span, slamming its claw into her face. She flew across the arena from the force of the hit. But before she could stand the Grimm was on top of her, its jaws snapping. Yang grabbed them and pulled them apart and hard as she could. Then she slammed its head sideways, knocking it off her. She stood and released a fury of punches, flinging the Grimm clear to the other side of the arena. She charged forward. Charging towards her, the Grimm slammed into her. She flew backwards, slamming painfully against the sand. Yang stood feeling dazed. Before she could get her bearing the Grimm charged forward slamming her into the arena wall then flung her backwards, its claws scraping her skin. She again stood to see the Grimm running towards her, tongue lolling. Time seemed to slow. Anger burned through Yang's veins. She slammed her fists together, rage exploding in her, the fires around the arena shot upwards. She screamed in rage and ran forward, slamming her fist into the Grimm's ugly head. It flew backwards slamming into the arena wall. Then it slumped forward. Dead. Yang looked at it, panting. Then she let the rage leave her in a calming breath. The Grimm faded to dust. "What an impressive win from Yang Xiao Long!" the headmaster said over the loud speakers. "I'm sure any Grimm will think twice before messing with her semblance!" Yang turned towards them in shock.

"_Semblance_?" Partly in a daze she wandered off the arena. _Was…was that really my semblance?_ She thought. Sky ran up to her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Yang!" She shouted. "Why didn't you tell me your semblance was active!" Yang looked at her in shock

"I…I didn't know it was!" she whispered.


	5. Support (SPOILERS)

**Support**

Jaune Arc sat in the Atlas training room. They had been in Atlas for about a week and he had been training whenever he could. Usually he trained with the Ace-Ops, but today they were off helping to clear Mantel's Grimm filled streets. So he had trained with Oscar instead - both used similar close ranged weapons, needed the extra practice, and had nothing else to do. The Relic of Knowledge sat on its usual place, attached to Oscar's belt. Even though it probably wasn't the smartest idea to fight with it still attached to him, it was the safest place for it. "Hey Oscar," Jaune called, "could you toss me my water bottle, I left if over there." He tossed it to him. Jaune caught it and drank deeply. They had been training hard for most of the day and he was beginning to feel the burn in his body. Oscar glanced at him worriedly.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked. "You seemed kinda distracted as we fought," Jaune lowered his water and sighed.

"I was just thinking about my semblance," he said. "I mean I know I shouldn't be complaining. You don't even have yours active, I'm lucky to have mine! But…I don't know. I had always dreamed of being the hero. You know the person who saved the damsel, and slays thousands of monsters unscathed. It's why I wanted to become a Hunter. But no matter what I do I'm just the support character! My semblance is increasing other's aura, I just always thought it'd be something like; I get stronger, or faster when I attack." He sighed and looked down, "I just always wanted to be the hero, not the one who just _helps _the hero." Oscar was silent for a long while.

"Well," he finally said. "The way I see it your role in our group is as important as being the hero or leader. Back when I lived at my farm we had to build a new shed. Ours had blown down. But in order to do that we had make a strong foundation, I honestly think we spent more time making sure it didn't blow down again than we did building it higher." Oscar smiled at the memory. "We had to make sure the foundation was strong enough to handle almost anything. When building anything you have to make sure the base is strong and unmovable. If you don't have a strong base the whole thing will just fall. It's the same with building a team. Imagine our team as a tower. You'd be the base because you help support and keep everyone stronger. Without you the whole tower would just fall. The stronger the base, the stronger the team. Jaune, you saved Weiss's life! Maybe it's not the role you wanted, but it's the role you best fit into! Why fight that?"

Jaune smiled. "I guess you're right." he said, "You know you sound a lot like someone I knew once. She would have told me the same thing, my team needs a strong foundation. And I help them become stronger." As he said this his hand trailed down and felt the strip of red cloth tied around his waist.

"Thanks Oscar," he said. Oscar smiled. Then he leaned down and picked up his cane.

"Come on," he said standing. "We should probably keep training." Jaune sighed and stood, grabbing his sword and shield as he did.

From where she stood, Pyrrah Nikos smiled at Jaune. He had grown so much from when she knew him at Beacon, changed beyond from what she could even have seen. He _was_ the warrior he had always dreamed of becoming. She just wished she could tell him how proud she was. Turning she walked back into the blinding white light that signified her new home, the realm of piece and light. She looked back to look at his all too familiar form. "I will always love you Jaune Arc," she whispered. Then she back walked into the light.


	6. Crazy Thursday

Crazy Thursday

Nora Valkyrie skipped down the small gravel road. Lightning flashed in the sky as rain poured down around her. Wind whipped her wet hair into her face. She lifted her head up and felt the cold rain spatter on her cheeks. Nora loved storms - the power, the energy - it seemed to flow though her. She felt so alive as thunder crashed above her.

"Nora," an unhappy voice said behind her, "can we please go back inside." Nora turned and looked back on her friend. Standing in the middle of the path, Ren looked as unhappy as he possibly could. His arms were folded over his chest and rain had soaked into his clothes making them heavy and cold. Lightning crashed overhead. Ren flinched.

"That lightening is getting really close. It's not safe to be out here."

"Oh come on Ren!" Nora said. "Just a little bit longer? Please please please _please!"_

Ren sighed and wiped the rain off his face. "Fine but only for a few minutes"

Nora squealed with joy and flung her arms around his neck. "Thanks Ren!" she said. "You're the best!" She felt his body stiffen under her touch and he stumbled back from her weight. Nora jumped off him and ran back ahead on the path, flinging her arms out and laughing. Watching her, Ren smiled. He felt freezing and desperately wanted to return to their small apartment they had rented, but Nora looked so happy out in the storm that he couldn't say no. Still, he glanced nervously up at the sky. The lightning was flashing right over head, the thunder booming loud enough to hurt his ears. Nora kept running, oblivious to the obvious danger.

"Nora," he said nervously, his eye never leaving the sky. "We should get inside. It's not safe to be out here" Nora turned around and gave him a wild smile.

"Oh come on Reny! What's the worst that could happen?" Suddenly a streak of light slammed down. Ren was flung back from the force of it, he didn't even have time to cry out. His head slammed againt the path, black spots flashed in front of his eye. Slowly he pushed himself up. His ears rang from the force of the crash. He reached up – his hair was wet with blood. He turned and saw Nora laying on the path, the ground around her smoking.

"Nora!" he shouted. He pushed himself to his feet, the ground felt as though it swayed under him but he kept his balance. He ran towards Nora, his heart thumping with fear. He fell to his knees in front of her. Her clothes had trailing lines of smoke and her face was chalk white. But she was breathing.

"_Nora!_" he shouted, "_Nora please wake up! Nora! Nora!_" He shook her, his heart hammering in him. _No_ he thought_ I can't panic. That won't help anyone. I have to say calm_. He breathed out a slow breath and was about to activate his semblance to help calm himself down. Suddenly Nora's eyes flickered open.

"R…Ren" she said weakly.

"Nora!" Ren said in surprise, "You're okay!" He picked her up in a hug, tears threatening to fall.

"What…what happened?" she asked after he had gently laid her back down.

"You got hit by lightning," he said. "How do you feel?" Nora paused.

"I…I feel fine," she said. "I feel better than fine. Like I could go 10 rounds with an Ursa and win!" She stood up a little shakily, her hand clasping Ren's shoulder.

"Come on," Ren said. "We have to get you to a doctor."

"Doctor!" Nora said in surprise, "But I feel fine! Besides, doctors are expensive and we don't really have a lot of Len right now." She did have a point, Ren had managed to get a low paying job to support him and Nora but they didn't exactly have Len to spare.

Ren shook his head. "Well just buy cheaper food. You were just stuck by lightening! We have to see if you're okay!" Nora groaned but followed him to the doctor whose office was near where they were living. As they walked Ren used his aura to heal his head, his eyes never leaving Nora who skipped along the path, laughing as the rain blew past her.

Finally they reached the doctor. Ren pushed the door open and was initially hit with a chemically smell of cleaning supplies and medicine. Nora hopped in after him, happily waving to the other people waiting their turn to be seen. Ren walked up to the receptionist and explained what had happened. After a short while they were let to a large white room. The doctor instructed Ren to wait in the hall.

In front of him, Ren saw a painting of the Emerald Forest. It looked fairly accurate – the artist must have been there before. It looked green and pristine. The doctor came out of the room. Ren stood up from the chair he had been sitting on. "Well?" he asked, his heart thumping wildly. The doctor glanced over his notes and shrugged. "Her aura is full and her vitals normal, but her heart rate is faster than normal. I can't explain why, but her whole body is literally sparking with electricity! You say she was hit by lightning?" Ren nodded.

"Well," the doctor continued, "Your friend seems unharmed; actually she seems better than unharmed." He paused. "I believe her semblance might have been activated. Come in - I'll show you." Ren hesitated then followed him into Nora's room. His words echoing though Ren's head, _her semblance might have been activated._

Nora looked up from the table she had been sitting on and smiled. "Hey Ren!" she said happily. Ren looked at her in shock, Nora's whole body was sparking, small pink jolts of energy shot from her and into the air, her eyes were wild and alert and almost seemed to spark with energy. The doctor pulled open a drawer and pulled out a small device.

"We use this to knock out patients who are….well not cooperating. It uses electric dust, and, if I'm right, it should give her increased energy. That is, if you want me to try?" Nora looked at Ren nervously.

"What does he mean knock people out? I don't wanna be knocked out!" Ren took it out of the man's hand and turned to Nora.

"He…uh…well he thinks the lightning might have activated your semblance. He thinks electricity might make you stronger." Nora stared at him in stunned silence.

"My semblance…" she whispered. The young girl looked at her hands in shock. Then a huge grin spread over her face.

"If it might be my semblance, what are we waiting for!"

Ren nodded. "If you're sure" Then he turned on the small device in his hand, took a deep breath and put it against Nora's arm.

The effect was instant. The electricity seemed to absorb into her body, jolts shot up her arm, the air around her crackled with pink energy. Her eyes widened in shock. She looked up at Ren, her eyes alive and glowing.

"I feel amazing!" she shouted, leaping to her feet. "Like I could throw an Ursa a whole mile! Ren! This is amazing!" Ren looked at her in stunned silence.

"I…wha…" he stammered, trying to process what had just happened.

"It this really my semblance? 'Cause it's _awesome_!"

"I...I think it is." Ren stammered.

"Really" Nora shouted, throwing her arms around his neck, "_This is the best day of my life!_"

"Nora," he said smiling. "We should get back home." Nora giggled and released her hug.

"Oh yeah…"she said. "We probably should…" Ren nodded then turned to the doctor.

"Thank you." he said holding out his hand. The doctor smiled and shook it.

"Thank you doctor man!" Nora called out as the left the room. "I liked your shocky box! Oh! I wanted to ask you! Did ever have to break someone's legs in your job?"

"Nora!" Ren shouted dragging her away. "You can't just ask strangers if they ever broke someone's leg!"

"But that wasn't just 'a random stranger!' It was a doctor!"

Ren sighed.

A few minutes later they were back in the rain, though it had changing from a downpour to shower. Ren nervously thought of the Len they owed the hospital. _I'll just double my hours. Maybe I could try to find a good job for Nora while I'm at it. _He shook his head. This wasn't the time for these thoughts, today was supposed to be happy. Nora's semblance had finally activated. He smiled watching her excitement on the path in front of him.

After a short while they finally reached their small apartment. Nora slammed the door open and shouted "_This is the best day of my lifeeeeeeeeeeeee!" _Ren sighed, but smiled seeing her joy.

"Ren!" Nora shouted, spinning around and grabbing his arm. "We _have_ to celebrate! We should…um…" she trailed off trying to think.

"Well," Ren said, "I could make you pancakes"

Squealing with joy, she shouted, "_This is literally the best day ever!" _

A few minutes later Ren was flipping pancakes onto a plate and smiling to himself. He glanced out the window. Nora was running around in what was left of the rain shouting something he couldn't make out. In her hand she held the large, wood, pink hammer he had gotten her for her 10th birthday. She had been the same then - happy, so full of energy and life. _I hope she never changes _he found himself thinking. S_he's perfect just the way she is. _He turned back and continued flipping pancakes.


	7. Lucky' Girl

**Lucky' Girl**

Pyrrah Nikos waited outside on a lush, green lawn overshadowed by her parent's spacious house. As she sat she counted the cars that flashed past on the road in front of her, naming the colors, _5-blue, 6,-grey, 7-blue, 8-red_. She looked down at her signature Pumpkin Pete watch worn around her wrist (she had eaten 7 boxes of cereal to get it). The time read 2:05. Jade was late, again. Well by 5 munities, but still late. Pyrrah sighed and kept counting the cars, _9-red, 10 white, 11-black, 12-yellow_. She groaned and flung her body backwards, landing on the grass with a grunt. She brought her watch up to her face again, 2:06. She groaned again and flopped her arm on the grass. She hated waiting! Suddenly Jade's face peered over hers. Pyrrah smiled up at her friend.

Pyrrah's and Jade's life couldn't be any different. Jade came from a lower class, working family, her father was a SDC shipping pilot, which didn't pay a lot for being such a rich company, and he was gone for days on end. Pyrrah lived a wealthy life, her family owned a small mansion, as well as servants that obeyed almost all of Pyrrah's requests. Her father helped supply materials and build weapons for Atlas, her mother was a huntress of extreme regard and talent. At the age of 8, Pyrrah was already showing signs of being a prodigy towards her mother. Yet somehow Jade had become her best friend, well, her only friend.

Jade's dark brown hair was in a tight ponytail. She was wearing a dark green skirt and a black shirt that had _Junior Huntress _printed in sparkly green letters, a brown bag hung around one shoulder. Pyrrah herself had her burning red hair down, she wore black leggings, and a red shirt covered in tiny white flowers. Smiling, her green eyes shining, Jade reached into her bag and pulled out two bracelets. "I made them for us," she said, "they're friend ship bracelets made with our favorite colors." The bracelets were made from gold, black, and green thread, and roughly braided together. Pyrrah's face exploded in a grin.

"Jade! I love it!" They clumsily tied them to each other's wrists. Gently the redhead rubbed her finger over it smiling as she did. Reaching into her bag Jade pulled out a small ball.

"Wanna pay catch?" she asked. Pyrrah nodded, still smiling.

The two tossed the ball back and forth for about 5 minutes, their tosses getting wilder with each toss. "I call this throw the 'so high it will be launched into space!" Jade shouted and flung the ball. Pyrrah watch as it soared over head and landed in the road bouncing slightly as it did.

Jade groaned. "My ball! That was the last one I had!" Pyrrah looked down at her bracelet. Friends were supposed to help other friends. She glanced over at the ball in the road.

"I'll get it," she said shrugging. Jade looked at her in shock.

"But Pyrrah! My parents told me never to walk in a road without them!"

"I'll be careful!" the redhead called over her shoulder as she ran towards the road. Pyrrah's front yard only had a low decorative fence that she easily stepped over. She looked at the ball sitting in the middle of the road. _This is easy _she thought. _I'll just run over and grab it_. She sprinted over to the ball and leaned down to pick it up.

Suddenly she heard Jade scream, her voice filled with panic. "Pyrrah! Look out!" She looked up to see a truck right in front of her. In a panic she flung her hands in front of her. Working purely on instincts, she _pushed_ forward with her mind. The young girl heard a crash and the screech of metal. Opening her eyes she saw something that made her heart stop. The truck's whole front was smashed in; as if it had hit a wall. The driver looked as stunned as she felt. Her hands were glowing black as well as the front of the truck. Panting she let her hands drop, her body frozen with shock.

"_Pyrrah_!" Jade shouted. But Pyrrah didn't hear her; all she heard was a fizzed blur. She felt herself falling, her body slamming against the concrete of the road, the world turning black.

Pyrrah opened her eyes to see an anxious face over hers. "Mom?" she said weakly. A huge smile spread over her mother's face.

"Good morning, Pyrrah," she said. "How do you feel?" Making a self-assessment Pyrrah slowly sat up.

"I feel…fine. I have a head ache but I'm okay." Nodding her mother reached over and gently grabbed her hand.

"Do you remember what happened?" she asked, looking into her daughter's eyes. Pyrrah though.

"Well," she said, "I was outside playing with Jade. We were paying ball when Jade threw it too far and it landed in the road. I went to go get it and there was this truck and…." She trailed off remembering what she had done. "And I….did something to it. It was….destroyed." With fear in her eyes she looked up at her mother.

"Mommy," she whispered. "How did I do that?" Her mother looked at her proudly.

"Your semblance activated Pyrrah! You stopped a whole truck with it!" Pyrrah looked down at her hands is shock.

"I…It did?" she said in surprise. Her mother grabbed her hands and looked into Pyrrah's emerald green eyes.

"It did" she said. "Your semblance is polarity! You can control metal! Baby I'm so proud of you! You're going to be such a strong huntress! You're such a lucky girl!" Her mother hugged her as Pyrrah sat on her bed in shock.

"Wait mom!" she said, "What about Jade? Is she still here?"

"No," her mother whispered in her ear. "Jade went home after you fainted."

The next weeks passed in a blur. Her mother told her father what had happened; they decided not to tell anyone else and keep her semblance a secret, hiring a personal trainer to both instruct her with her semblance and to train her to become a huntress. There was a whole bunch of scrambling around and exited yelling, a party, and a ton of random things that made Pyrrah's head spin. But during the whole week she didn't see Jade once. She tried to talk to her mother about it but she responded, "You need to focus on your semblance right now." She tried calling Jade's scroll, nothing. Finally, on the third week of all the craziness and endless training a letter came for Pyrrah. _Dear Pyrrah_ it read.

_I'm sorry I didn't write this sooner, But I have some bad news for you. My dad told me I can't see you anymore. It's not because I don't like you or anything, it's just you're going to be so busy training to become a huntress now that I'll only distract you. Plus you live in a huge house and I don't, you'll just look bad being around me. We just weren't meant to be friends. I'm sorry. I'll always remember you. _

_Jade_.

The next few moments were a blur. Pyrrah remembered ripping off her friendship bracelet and throwing it away. Tears poured down her face as threw everything Jade had ever given her away. She screamed over and over, "_I hate my semblance! Why can't it just go away? Everything has changed! I want them to just go back! Please just go back!"_

A few hours later she felt numb and empty. She hadn't told her mother or father. She didn't want to see the sad looks on their faces as they tried to console her. Instead, she got up and walked to where her personal trainer was supposed to meet her. She waited an hour for him to arrive. As soon as he did they began training. Pyrrah used her semblance to lift a heavy weight off the floor, gritting her teeth together as she did. Her trainer smiled, "And an even heaver one lifted with no effort at all! Your semblance is truly remarkable! You, Pyrrah Nikos, are an extremely lucky girl to have such an amazing semblance!" She looked around at all her wealth, her house, her life. _Yeah,_ she thought numbly '_Lucky.' _


	8. Lost (slight spoilers)

**Lost**

Lie Ren stared at rubble that had once been his home village. It had been a week since he had lost everything, a week since his home had been destroyed, a week since his family had been killed, a week since his semblance had been activated. He hardly turned it off now, preferring to feel nothing than the horrible crushing weight of his pain. "Ren!" a voice suddenly called. He turned and saw a girl with orange hair and blue eyes run up to him. Nora. The two had hardly left each other's side since the attack. Both clinging to the one thing that had remained constant.

Nora held a dead bird Ren assumed she had shot herself using a gun she has found in the village. "Here," she said, tossing him the bird, "we could eat this tonight." Ren smiled up at her, it was an empty smile, a smile with no emotion.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll get the fire ready." It was getting harder and harder to find food. The Grimm had scared away most of the prey. Ren knew they should leave, but he didn't know where to go or what to do. He felt lost.

As he built the fire he stared down at his gray, colorless hands. He had gotten used to them being colorless. He had gotten used to feeling numb.

Nora began swinging around her toy hammer that Ren had given her. She refused to let it out her sight. "Someday," she said proudly, "I'm gonna be a huntress and use a hammer to kill Grimm. I'll be able to protect people!" Ren said nothing, he used to believe huntsman and huntresses could protect anyone, that they could kill any Grimm with ease. But now, now he realized that was a childish dream.

Suddenly a twig snapped. Ren jumped to his feet and Nora ran over and grabbed his hand. Concentrating, Ren spread his semblance to Nora, muting her emotions and hiding her from Grimm. "It's, okay," he said smiling. "We're safe, they can't see us." Tightening her grip on his hand, Nora nodded.

"Hey I think I heard something over here." A voice suddenly called through the trees. Shock ran through Ren and he dropped Nora's hand. There were _people_? He hadn't seen anyone other than Nora for the past week. The bushes rustled as a man walked through. He was wearing a black vest, a green shirt and had dark brown hair and eyes. The man froze when he saw the two children.

"Um…guys…" he said, his eyes not moving, "I…um…found someone." Ren heard a response, but it was too far away for him to make out. The man parted the bushes and walked towards them. Ren retreated a step, unsure of what to do. Nora however rushed forward and hugged the man's waist. Grunting the man stumbled back.

"Um…Hi?" he said patting her head.

A few hours later Ren and Nora sat around a fire with the man who had found them and his team. There were two boys and one Faunas girl, large, gray koala ears took place of human ears. "So I guess we should introduce ourselves," the man in the black vest said. "My name is Brandon, I'm the leader of our team, team BLAK I mean." The Faunas girl raised her hand next.

"Name's Liza," she said. The girl was wearing a silver jacket that was partly zipped up with a purple shirt underneath, black tight pants and purple boots. She had short gray hair.

"I'm Abe," the second man said. He was wearing a sleeveless blue shirt and black shorts; his hair was black as well his eyes. The last man was wearing a red vest with no shirt underneath, white pants and tall red boots. His hair was light brown.

"Hey," he said waving, "name's Kai."

"Hi!" Nora said happily. "My name is Nora, that's Ren, he doesn't talk much."

"How did you guys survive the Grimm attack?" Abe asked, "I mean nucklelavee are relentless, how'd you get out?"

"Ren's semblance," Nora said shrugging, "He can hide us from Grimm, that's why he looks all grayish right now." Brandon looked curiously at Ren.

"Hide you?" he asked. "How?"

"Well…"Nora said, thinking about it, "he makes you feel …well…empty? You don't feel scared when the Grimm attack, or happy, or anything…Just empty." Brandon shared a strange look with his team members.

"Could…I feel it?" Brandon asked. "Your semblance I mean." Looking up from the fire Ren shrugged.

"Sure" he said. Standing up he waked over to the Huntsman and extended his hand. After hesitating for a second Brandon stretched out his own hand and grabbed Ren's. Instantly the color drained from his body, replaced by a dull grey. Brandon's face relaxed and his shoulders slumped. His eyes became empty of emotion, dull, almost lifeless. Seconds passed, no one said a word, the members of team BLAK looking worriedly at their leader. Finally, Ren pulled his hand back and the color returned to Brandon's body. The Huntsman gasped in shock, falling forward and grabbing his knees to keep himself from falling. Liza rushed over and grabbed Brandon's shoulder as he gasped. He stared at Ren with a strange look over his face.

"Wow," he whispered. "That…that could be helpful." Straightening, Brandon gave Ren a gentle smile.

"With that semblance, you could be a really powerful Hunter," he said,

"Yeah!" Nora shouted leaping to her feet and swinging her toy hammer. "I could help him and we could be an awesome team!"

After the group had eaten dinner, cooked by Kai, they lay down to sleep. Ren fell asleep almost instantly, his body still not used to the strain of using his semblance 24/7.

_Grimm were everywhere, the horrible cries echoing around, mixing with the cries of the dying. Ren ran past the monsters looking desperately for his family. "Dad!" he screamed. "Mom! Where are you!" The boy ran through the unfamiliar streets, the bodies of the fallen seemed never ending, each had the face of someone he knew. Tears streamed down his face. Suddenly he heard his father's voice. _

"_Ren!" he screamed. "Ren where are you!? _

"_Dad!" Ren screamed back. He followed his father's voice until he rounded a corner and saw him. He was lying on the ground, blood streaming down his side. A nuckelavee stood over him. _

"_Dad!" Ren shouted, pain gripping his chest. "No! No! Please! Not again! I can't…" He fell to his knees and the nuckelavee turned around and saw him. The Grimm screamed and rushed towards him, claws outstretched. _

Ren sat up gasping for breath. Sweat shone on his face. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and reactivated his semblance, feeling the familiar numbness flow over him. Suddenly he heard voices through the trees. Pushing himself up he walked over and saw Brandon standing beside Liza, arms folded over his chest.

"I…I can't explain it," he said. "It was like all my emotions were just gone. I couldn't feel anything. It was shocking, nothing seemed to matter anymore. I just felt…numb." Liza gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to do something for these kids," Brandon said. "His semblance is like some kind of drug. We both know what'll happen if we just…bring them to a city and leave them."

"Well…" Liza said. "We can't take care of them either, you know that as much as I do. We're Hunters Brandon, we can't take care of children. What should we do?" Rubbing a hand over his face Brandon sighed.

"I don't know, alright. I just know I won't be able to live with myself if Ren's life is ruined because I didn't do anything." Ren closed his eyes and sighed, turning around he walked back to his makeshift sleeping bag and lay back down, thinking about Brandon's words.

The next day Ren woke up to the smell of food cooking. Sitting up he walked into the camp and found team BLAK cooking breakfast over a small fire. "Hi Ren!" Nora called happily. She ran over to him and gave him a quick hug then continued running around swinging her hammer. Ren smiled slightly and walked over to the fire.

"No!" Brandon said. "The meat needs to cook more! It'll be under cooked!"

"Who's the chef here? You or me!" Kai retorted back "The meat is perfect!" Ren cleared his throat to get their attention. Brandon looked up and smiled.

"Hey Ren," he said. "How do you feel?" Looking down Ren shrugged.

"Fine," he said. He could feel Brandon's gaze on him. Suddenly he felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder. Ren looked up in shock to see Brandon had stood and was looking into his eyes.

"Hey," he said gently. "I…wanted to talk to you about something." After hesitating, Ren nodded. He let Brandon lead him away from the camp so they were alone. Releasing his shoulder Brandon sat on a fallen log and gestured for Ren to sit beside him. With Ren sitting beside him, Brandon looked down at his hands, clearly unsure of how to continue.

Finally he looked at Ren. "So…how often have you deactivated your semblance since you got it?" Ren looked down at his hands and shrugged.

"It deactivates when I sleep, but other than that… I really haven't. It hurts too much."

"You know," Brandon said after a pause, "I…I lost my parents in a Grimm attack too. It destroyed my home, my family, everything I had ever known. That's why I became a Huntsman, so I could at least try to stop that from happening to other people." Ren looked at him in surprise.

"I'm…sorry," he whispered.

"Thanks," Brandon said giving him a sad smile. "The reason I'm telling you this is because I know what it's like, the pain I mean. It pushes down on you and, you can't breathe. Trust me I know what it's like to have everything stripped away from you. But…but you can't hide from it forever. Doing that will only make the pain worse. I know it hurts but you have to deactivate your semblance. You'll never be able to move forward with your life if you don't." Ren looked down at his grey hands.

"I can't," he whispered. "It hurts too bad. I…I just can't." Brandon looked at him for a long while then gently pulled him into a hug.

"Your friend said you wanted to be Huntsmen," he said. "Well…Huntsman don't hide from pain. I…we are the ones people look to for hope, for strength. People see us as a guiding light, how are you supposed to be that light if your light is too dim to see?" Ren closed his eyes and sighed. The two were like that for hours, Brandon holding Ren as he thought over what he had said.

The next day the group of six walked into the village that neighbored Ren's. Nora held tightly to Ren's pale hand - the large village probably reminded her of her lonely past. Few people looked at them as they walked in. "I'm gonna go buy food," Kai said turning away from the group. "We're running low."

"Ammo," Abe said, walking in another direction. Brandon and Liza shared a look and glanced down at the two children.

"Well," he said shrugging, "I guess we got the kids."

Liza gave him a strange smile and said. "We should go try to find somewhere they could live, maybe a place they could get a job? I mean they are just kids…"  
The four spent the remainder of the day searching for a place Ren and Nora could stay. Eventually, when darkness fell, they met up with Abe and Kai at an Inn to rest for the night. Ren sat on the windowsill and stared out across the unfamiliar landscape. Nora sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Ren…" she whispered, "what are we gonna do it they can't find a new home for us?" Ren shook his head.

"We'll keep moving forward," he whispered. "It's what my family would have wanted." Brandon's words replayed in his head. _How are you supposed to be that light if your light is too dim to see. _He looked at his gray, lifeless hands and took a shaky breath. _He's right. I can't keep hiding from this…I have to push on_. Closing his eyes, the boy deactivated his semblance. _Keep moving forward_. He thought.

We Love you Monty. Thank you for sharing your light with the world.


	9. The Forgotten Branwen

The Forgotten Branwen

Qrow Branwen crouched behind a tree, a small gun in his hand, his eyes glued to the deer peacefully eating the forest greenery. Slowly, the dark haired man lowered the gun and pointed it at the animal. But just as he was about to fire, the breeze shifted, blowing his scent towards the deer. It looked up in panic and fled. Qrow fired one desperate shot that hit a tree with a resounding _bang_, but the deer was already gone. Standing, Qrow swore under his breath. Shoving his hands into his pockets he thought about chasing after the deer, but just sighed. Even if by some miracle he did find it, what then? His stupid semblance would keep him from being able to actually shoot it.

Instead he began walking back in the direction of the tribe. _I just won't eat tonight_ he thought.

As he was nearing the hidden tribe he heard a rustle in the branches of a nearby bush. Without thinking, he pulled out his gun and fired. Walking forward, gun still in hand he leaned down and picked up a dead rabbit. It was thin and small, but it was food. _Hah, _he thought, _I guess I'll eat after all. _Attaching the rabbit to his belt he continued walking.

After a short while he saw the tall wall made of wooden spikes that surrounded the Branwen tribe. He hesitated, not truly wanting to return. A harsh caw drew Qrow's attention to the tree above him. A crow sat on a branch, its beady eyes staring at him. Qrow glared back, wishing he really was a crow, that way he could just fly away from the tribe, from his life, his semblance and forget that they never existed. It would be easier than returning.

Lifting his gun he shot at the bird, the bullet missed but the crow flew away squawking. Qrow continued walking until he reached the tribe's gate. He hunched his shoulders as the guards snarled at him. "Great," he heard one of them mutter, "Qrow is back." Qrow, he hated that name, it reminded him every day of his semblance, it made it impossible to forget. If he had a name before everyone started calling him Qrow he didn't remember it, and it wasn't like his parents were still around to ask.

Sighing he walked back into camp. A few tribe members looked up as he entered, but no one welcomed him, in fact most did the opposite, glaring at him as he walked past.

An hour later, Qrow sat at a small fire he had made eating his burnt rabbit. Although his back was to it, he felt the heat of the massive bonfire the tribe had made in the middle of camp, he heard them shouting and laughing.

Without turning, he knew the other members of the tribe were laughing and drinking together, eating whatever the hunting party had dragged back. The hollow ache in his chest reminded him of why he sat alone.

The tribe had always avoided him, and he never really cared. Qrow preferred to be alone; it was just how he was. But one day, about a year ago, he had participated on a raid, a raid that had changed his life.

The village they attacked was small and weak, but that didn't mean it was defenseless. Qrow had been fighting side by side with one of the tribe's best warriors. But then a bullet from Qrow's gun went wild and slammed into his ribs. The tribe did the best they could to save him but the bullet had cut a hole into his lungs. He died an hour later.

After that, the tribe marked Qrow as untrustworthy, they pushed him away, threating to kill him if he tried to get anywhere near them. So he sat alone.

Qrow stood, tossing the reminder of the rabbit's bones into the fire. The meal had been nowhere near large enough and his stomach growled at him. Ignoring it he walked passed the bonfire and into his makeshift tent. Reaching under his sleeping bag he pulled out his Lien and thumbed through it. He walked back out, Lien in hand.

The Branwen walked towards the exit, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Suddenly a person stepped in front of him and a sharp voice asked, "Whre are you going?"

"Out of my way Raven," Qrow snapped to his sister. "You know where I'm going, beside when have you cared?"

"I care," the red eyed woman snapped back, "because you have a watch shift tonight."

"Oh," Qrow said drily pushing past her, "isn't that interesting."

"This tribe only works if each member pulls their own weight!" Raven said angrily, "Which you have been lacking in." Qrow barked out a laugh, a hollow, empty laugh.

"Oh so suddenly because I need to 'pull my own weight' I'm not invisible to the tribe anymore? Ask anyone here Raven; they would all prefer if I never came back." And with that he walked into the woods.

Following the well-trodden dirt path under his feet, Qrow kept his gaze glued down, the light from the moon showing his way.

Finally, after an hour, Qrow walked into a large town, one large enough to have escaped the tribe's attacks. Hunching his shoulders, the Branwen walked past the town residents, pausing only when he saw a young child tossing a ball with what he assumed was his father. They were both smiling as if nothing in the world mattered. A spike of pain shot through Qrow's chest as he looked at them. He had never had that, a childhood, a friend. In the tribe you were expected to act like an adult, expected to pull your own weight.

Sighing he began walking again.

He pushed the door to the town's bar open, a bell ringing as the door swung open. A few people sat on the different tables, some talking, others laughing, all drinking. Walking past them, Qrow slid onto a chair at the front counter. The Bar Keep nodded at him and walked into the back. "So," a voice said next to him, "you a regular?" Glancing over, Qrow saw a man with brown hair and teal eyes looking at him.

"And if I am?" Qrow asked flatly. The man smiled slightly.

"Then you probably have an interesting story to tell," he said. "The regulars usually drink to forget. So what are you trying to forget?" The Bar Keep walked back in and slid Qrow a shot glass filled with brown liquid. The ice inside made a small click as it hit his hand.

"My semblance." Qrow said, drinking some of the cup's content. It burned as it slid down his throat. "And my life." The man looked at him with a new found curiosity.

"Semblance hah? Now that has be a very interesting story." The red eyed man glanced at him and sighed.

"Look bud," he said. "I come here to not talk to people and to forget my semblance. Not to talk about it." The man slumped down.

"Ah, say no more," he said. "Would it persuade you if I bought you a drink?"

"It depends why you want to know." The man smiled and shrugged.

"I like stories, you could say I collect them. It's becoming a lost art but I like to think of myself as a story teller, a word creator, a bard if you will. Besides, I find that I end up helping most of the people who tell me their stories. And you look like you could use a bit of help."

Qrow thought about it, and then shrugged. "As long as you pay for my drinks," he said, draining the shot glass.

"So," the man said, "what is your semblance." Qrow sighed, staring at the wooden counter top.

"Misfortune," he said, "bad things happen around me and I can't stop it."

"So you're some kind of 'bad luck charm'?"

As if in response to the man's question a person behind them stumbled and fell on a table, flipping it up and spraying drinks everywhere.

"Yeah," Qrow said as shouts of anger began from behind, "A bad luck charm." The brown haired man looked behind him at the beginning of a bar fight then looked at Qrow with weariness in his eyes.

"And uh…." he said, "your life?" Qrow glared at him. Why was he telling this complete stranger everything about himself? Was it because he was buying him drinks or he simply needed to get it off his chest? Whatever the reason Qrow took a deep breath and began to talk.

"My um….family, they see me as worthless. When they're not avoiding me they're telling me to leave." The Bar Keep slid Qrow another glass, the Branwen's hand tightened around the glass as he felt his anger rise.

"They say family is more important than anything, but they treat me like…like a curse. Then they turn around and say 'pull your own weight' as if I was one of them! If I'm 'family' why do I feel like _nothing!_" He slammed his fist onto the counter, it was shaking, with anger or pain he didn't know. Qrow had never said those words out loud, the truth stung sharper than any sword. If he was a Branwen, why did he feel like an outcast? Slumping over he put his head in his hands. Feeling forgotten by the world and by the life he was meant to lead.

Suddenly a hand touched his shoulder.

"If you hate it there so much," the man with brown hair asked, "and the people who you live with would be happier if you left…why don't you leave?"

"You don't get it do you?" Qrow whispered. "I can't, they…they are the only family I have. I have nowhere else to go."

Hours later Qrow stumbled out of the bar. The moon shone directly overhead lighting his path as he walked back to the tribe, his head swimming with the effects of his drinking.

Finally, he lay on his sleeping bag, thinking about the words the man at the bar had said.

Harsh sunlight woke Qrow the next day. Groaning, he sat up, a foul taste in his mouth, his head pounding. Stumbling out of his tent, he squinted as the sun burned his eyes.

Walking to the side of his tent Qrow plunged his hands into a barrel of cold rain water and rubbed his face. "Qrow!" a voice snapped, cutting into his head like a blade. He winced and looked up to see Raven.

"Yeah?" he said, dipping his hands back into the water.

"We're doing a raid today at noon. You better be ready." He grunted in response.

_Great, just what I needed. _

The Branwen tribe hid outside the small village they were planning on raiding. Reaching down Qrow slid his gun out of his belt. His heart pounded with adrenaline, waiting for the signal to attack. Suddenly a shout rang through the forest around him - the tribe shouted a war cry and ran towards the village.

Qrow looked around him, his hands shaking. Bodies lay on the street, surrounded by blood. _I helped with this_ the thought kept circling though his head _I helped kill these people. _Tears pushed on his eyes. He stumbled to the side of an alleyway and fell against it. Then, slowly the Branwen fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands as tears began to fall. A cough sounded behind him. Qrow span around and stared in shock at the slumped form of a man. Around his neck was a cape as red as the blood that stained the street. The man looked up and met Qrow's eyes. Shock flashed through him. It was the man from the bar last night. Resonation shone in his eyes "Y…you," he whispered, blood trailing from the side of his mouth. Blood seeped thought his clenched hand around his stomach.

"I…I'm so sorry," Qrow stammered. "I never wanted…"

"I'm guessing these are the people you told me about?" the man said weakly. "Your one of them aren't you." Qrow turned away, and looked down at the gun in his hand.

The man fell silent, his heavy breathing the only indication that he was alive.

"And...and you hate to kill," the man whispered. Qrow looked back at him, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Huh…" the man whispered. "That would have made an interesting story." The brown haired man gave him a weak smile. "If it was…a good story…the man would turn away…from his old life… and become… a hero." Then the light faded from his eyes and he breathed his last breath with smile on his face.

Qrow stared at him for a long while then he walked to the dead man. He hesitated for a second, then gently unlatched the dark red cape, securing it around his own shoulders. He turned and walked out of the ally, tying to keep his breath steady.

He saw the tribe gathered together, showing what they had salvaged from the bodies they had killed. He saw his sister and for a second her eyes met his. Then he turned and walked away. _I can't do this_ he thought _I need to leave the tribe. _


	10. Voices (SPOILERS)

**Voices**

Okay, okay yes. This is a chapter about Oscar but not about his semblance. To be honest, I'm not sure it's even active yet. Anywho, it felt weird writing a RWBY fan fiction about the characters and not adding one for my smoll boi.

Oscar Pine straightened up, groaning as pain shot through his back. The farm boy had been crouched down for hours, carefully planting seeds in the plowed earth. Smiling he admired his work. _You know_ the voice said calmly,_ there are easier ways of doing that._

"Shut up," Oscar growled, his smile fading. The voice had been in his head for about a week and no matter what he did it wouldn't go away. It called itself, Professor Ozpin.

Rubbing the dirt off his face, Oscar turned and walked towards his house. "I really hope I'm not going crazy," he muttered.

_As we already discussed, you're not going crazy. _Ozpin responded.

"Yeah, because voices in someone's head is totally normal and not a sign of insanity."

_Again, I am not simply a 'voice in your head' Oscar. You can't keep telling yourself that lie. We both know it's more than that. _

"I said shut up." Reaching up Oscar turned the doorknob. His aunt smiled at him as he walked inside.

"Finished with the planting?" she asked. Oscar faked a smile and nodded.

"Y…Yeah," he said. "I just finished."

"Perfect, because I just finished dinner." The smile still on his face Oscar slid into his seat and watched his aunt carry a pot of soup to the table. After she set it down she looked worriedly at Oscar.

"Are you…alright?" she asked. "You seem distracted and distant lately."

"Oh…no I'm fine," Oscar stammered, squirming under her worried gaze.

"Alright," she said, playfully rubbing his hair. "But if you need to talk, I'm always here."

"I know," Oscar said smiling. "Thanks."

That night Oscar stared through his bedroom window at the shattered moon. _Beautiful isn't it?_ Ozpin asked. _I've always loved staring at the moon._

"What do you want?" Oscar snapped.

_Simply to talk. I know this is a lot to take in…_

"A lot to take in!" Oscar shouted, "I have a voice inside my head that is claiming to be headmaster of Beacon! This is more than a lot!" He sat on his bed, resting his head in his hands. Ozpin was silent for a long while.

_I'm truly sorry, _he finally said, his voice low. _Believe me when I say I would never have chosen to put you is this situation. _Oscar looked down at his gloved hands, a tear falling from his eyes and damping their orange fabric. He felt scared, terrified. Was he losing his mind? Could he ever live the life he wanted? Would this ever just…go away? He felt alone and scared. Pressing his face on his pillow, he allowed himself to cry. He was just 14, how was he supposed to do this, what was he supposed to do? The thoughts overwhelmed him and pushed more tears from his eyes. Ozpin was silent as he cried, but Oscar could feel his sympathy, regret, and pain.

Weeks later Oscar poked his oatmeal that had long since gone cold. _Oscar, you missed dinner yesterday, if you don't eat your aunt will start to worry. _Ozpin said.

_I'm pretty sure she is anyway. _Oscar thought back. But he put a spoonful in his mouth anyway, not really tasting it. It had been weeks since Ozpin first started talking, and as much as he hated to admit it, Oscar was starting to believe that he really was the Beacon headmaster.

_So you can hear my thoughts right? _Oscar thought, eating more oatmeal.

_Correct_ Ozpin responded.

_How about my memories? Can you see those?_

_Yes. Just as you will be able to see mine. _Oscar frowned, the thought made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Can we talk about something else?" he said outloud.

"Who are you talking to?" his aunt asked, walking in.

"Oh...uh…just talking to myself," Oscar said blushing, and put more oatmeal into his mouth. _Ugh! _He thought _this tastes really bad. _

Ozpin chuckled; _I did tell you to eat it when it was warm. _Oscar's aunt smiled and gently kissed the side his head.

"If you don't hurry up and eat your oatmeal it's gonna get stale," she said, worry showing in her eyes, a look Oscar had become all too familiar with.

"I know," he said smiling back.

That night Oscar was lying on his bed staring at his book shelves beside him. "Do you have any idea what you're asking me to 'just do?' I can't just leave my home! My aunt needs me!" he said angrily. "I can't just leave!"

_You know what's at stake Oscar. Remnant needs your help. _

"My help!" he shouted. "I never wanted any of this! I'm still a kid!" He stood and walked to his window, pressing his forehead on the glass. Ozpin had told him what the whole world was up against. Showed him how powerful _She _was. Closing his eyes he breathed out a slow breath, the window's surface turning white. Oscar knew he had been thrust into the middle of a huge war. Now that he knew what was going on, he wouldn't be able to turn away. Feeling trapped Oscar looked over the farm. The farm he had lived his whole life on - a simple, happy life. How could he just leave that behind?

_I'm not going to force you to do anything,_ Ozpin said gently. _But She is growing in power, and without our help, I'm afraid the Hunters already fighting this war will fall. _

"But how can _I_ help? I…I'm just…me," Oscar whispered.

_So were the Hunters I sent to fight. So was I. You're stronger than you think. And I will be with you wherever you go. _

"Could you…not say stuff like that?" Oscar said, rubbing his head.

_I apologize. I was simply trying to calm your nerves, _Oscar smiled slightly.

"Well…thanks… I guess."

Weeks flew by, weeks where Oscar rethought what Ozpin had told him about Salem and the relics, trying to wrap his mind around the truth.

The boy looked back at his farm, his home. Sighing he turned away and pulled the heavy backpack higher onto his shoulders. _You've made the right choice Oscar, _Ozpin said. Turning, the farm boy began walking down the dirt path.

"I know," he said. "I just hope my aunt doesn't worry too much." His head ached as he said it, already missing her.

Oscar sat in the train staring out the window at the speeding landscape. A few passengers glanced at him strangely, probably wondering why he was there. _So_ he thought _do you have a plan to find this…friend of yours in Minstrel?_

_My plan is simply to ask. Qrow is…easy to find to say the least. Not many people carry giant swords and have red capes. And if that fails, to look in as many bars as possible. _

_He sounds nice, _Oscar thought drily.

When the train screeched to a stop, Oscar walked out and looked around. He was in the outskirts of Minstrel and few people walked around. Taking a deep breath, he began walking towards the city, his backpack heavy on his back. "I really hope this guy isn't hard to find," he said.

Looking around, Oscar walked through the city streets searching for the Huntsman. Hours passed. "I thought you said this guy would be easy to find," he said.

_Just be patient _Ozpin said.

Oscar stumbled forward as Qrow suddenly flopped on the boy's back, laughing drunkenly. "Are you sure this is the Huntsman you were looking for?" he asked Ozpin, shoving the drunk off.

_Yes_ he responded tiredly _he may not seem like much but I would trust this man with my life, and I have many times. _Qrow stumbled and fell on the stone path.

Running over Oscar helped pull him to his feet. "Thanks kid," Qrow said. "That rock has been following me." He shoved Oscar's shoulder and continued stumbling down the path, laughing.

"Rocks can't walk, it didn't follow me, I followed it." This was flowed by more laughter. Oscar looked blankly after Qrow, then ran after him.

"Do you know where you're going?" he asked. "I need to get to the place your team has been staying at."

"Of course I know what I'm doing. It's right down here." Qrow stumbled down a random alleyway and Oscar ran after him.

The alleyway was empty.

Oscar sighed _this is going to be a long night. _He thought.

Hours later, Oscar stood in front of a large wooden door that Qrow had led him to, taking a deep breath he raised his fist and knocked.


	11. Note

Soooooo yeah. I finished the main character's chapters. At this point I will be taking requests. If you have a character's semblance you want me to write just ask and I will. 😊

4,367 reads! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!


	12. Lies

**Lies **

Emerald Sustrai had been taught a single truth in her life. The world was made up of lies. Everyone had them, some told lies to makes themselves seem smarter, more trustworthy. Others spent years building up lies and a single truth could pull it all down. Everyone told lies to hide truth. Some told lies to themselves, some said them for others. But the broken, twisted world she lived in was built around lies.

She sat on a wooden crate overlooking the street, a stolen apple in her hand. She watched the people walking by, wondering what lies they hid behind, and what truths they chose to share.

Reaching up she brushed her dirty, green hair from her face and stood. Throwing the apple as she walked, the thief quietly walked through the streets. A woman in a heavy coat was talking in her scroll. As Emerald walked past her she slipped her hand into the woman's pocket and withdrew a wallet, sliding it into her back pocket Emerald continued walking, a smile flickering on her face.

Eventually the thief reached an abandoned building that had once been a Dust shop before it was shut down. Glancing around to make sure she wasn't followed, Emerald crawled through a broken window. Inside the building was filthy, the floor covered in a thin layer of dust, graffiti covered the walls and the whole building smelled. But it was safe. The building was Emerald's temporary home until the police, or Hunters got to close to finding it. Then she would have to leave to another.

Pulling the stolen wallet from her pocket she thumbed through it. There were some useless cards for businesses, which the tossed on the floor.

After taking everything out of the wallet she had a small stack of Lien in her hand. Lifting a crate that had originally held ice Dust, she added to the steady growing stack of Lien already there. She was trying to gain enough Lien to buy a weapon, her job was dangerous. And as she steadily got better stealing she was beginning to attract attention from the police and other thieves. Emerald needed a weapon to defend herself.

As she lay down to sleep, her thoughts drifted back to lies. Was she happy in her life? Or did she just lie to herself to avoid self-pity? What lies did she tell herself? What truths did she hide from? If she could choose another life, would she? Her body and mind were built for thieving. She was fast, agile, and her eyes never missed anything. Emerald was good at what she did.

But she was alone.

Was she trapped in this life forever? She didn't choose to become a thief; she didn't choose to be alone.

The next morning Emerald walked around the streets, her red eyes scanning for people she would rather avoid. She glared at a couple walking past, their clothes were fine and expensive, rings covered their fingers and they stared at everyone passing with an air of disdain. The rich always hid behind the most lies, they lied to themselves that they were better than the poor, smarter. But they had never known true hunger before; they didn't know what it was like to huddle under a course sack that smelled like alcohol to survive a snowy night. Yet they lied and said they were better than those who had to fight for life, a lie the whole world believed.

But Emerald had a talent for seeing through lies. Movements always gave the truth away, change in breathing, tapping fingers, shifting eyes. All were pointers. It was strange how the mind was always lying, but the body always tried to show the truth.

Continuing her walk she reviewed her plan in her mind. A shipment of Dust was being delivered today by airship. If she could steal a crate, she could sell the Dust cheaper than it was normally sold for, with the Lien she would have enough to order a custom-made weapon. Stealth was needed, Dust crystals were always guarded. Emerald would need to create a distraction in order for her plan to succeed.

Walking to where she had overheard Dust workers saying a shipment would be landing, she quickly scaled a small building and watched. If she was higher, there was less chance to be spotted, people tended not to look up. It gave her an advantage of sight.

Hours past and soon the sun began to fall. But Emerald remained on her perch. Thievery required patience.

Finally an airship came into view. The thief watched as uniformed workers stepped out of the airship. Behind them, more workers followed, each dragging a crate that sat on a small floating platform, powered by gravity Dust. Most of the workers were Faunus. A woman wearing a red shirt with a tag that read _'Dust Delivery' _walked out of the building Emerald was hiding on and began talking to the guards.

_Four guards_ Emerald thought. _Five workers. One shop owner. After they finish unloading I need to pull their attention away from the Dust. _

After the Dust was unloaded Emerald climbed off the building and hid in its shadow, watching. As soon as the workers' backs were turned, she creeped forward, silent. The guard's eyes were on the Dust so they didn't see a girl with green hair sneak from behind the airship.

Keeping low, Emerald looked up at the still spinning blades that kept the ship in the air. Pulling out her small, dull knife the thief stood and jammed the blade into the center where the blades connected. The effect was instant. The machine sputtered and clanged, and the blades froze in place. The ship fell to the ground with a thud.

Yanking out her knife, Emerald ran backwards into an alleyway. The workers and shop owner, turning in shock, ran to the back of the airship to see what was wrong. The thief creeped along through the shadows to the front of the airship.

Emerald grabbed a box of Dust, not bothering to see what kind, then she began pulling it away.

Suddenly a voice called out "Stop! _Thief!_" Emerald turned in shock to see the store owner yelling and pointing at her. Swearing under her breath the thief ran, hearing the sounds of pursuit behind her.

She ran, ducking, swerving leaping through the streets, the crate of Dust always in front of her. She could hear shouts from behind, "Stop! You're under arrest!" In response, she simply ran on. Looking over her shoulder, she saw two guards chasing her, her heart thudded in her chest. _Wait…where was the other…_Suddenly her Dust box slammed into something, knocking her stomach into the side. Looking the girl saw two guards in front of her, guns in their hands.

"I said, you're under arrest." Emerald smirked.

"You're new at this, aren't you?" she asked. The guards looked at each other in confusion.

"Never let your hands off your prize." Then, the thief, using the box as support, leaped up and swung her feet into the guards' faces. She used the box, now behind her, as a shield and ran. Bullets hit the box, its protective walls keeping the Dust from exploding, and the buildings around her, one hit her arm and she cried out in pain, but didn't dare stop. Looking around, the thief searched for something familiar, some crooked back alleys where she could lose her followers. But as she looked, she realized.

Nothing looked familiar.

The Dust had been delivered outside of where she usually worked. Emerald thought she had run towards the streets she knew so well, but nothing looked familiar.

Her heart hammering in her chest, she desperately tried to remember what direction she had taken. A bullet hit her leg, breaking her thoughts. She wasn't sure how many more hits her aura could take.

She ran, her breath coming out in short gasps. She could taste blood in her mouth. Emerald saw an alleyway she thought she recognized. Without pausing to think she ran inside. And froze.

It was a dead end.

Panting, she turned to run but she was too late. The guards were walking down the alley, panting, guns raised.

Pushing the Dust behind her, Emerald clenched a hand into a fist as the other grabbed her small, dull knife. "You're new at this, aren't you?" one of the guards smirked, "when you hit someone, make sure it's hard enough to knock them out." Emerald opened her mouth but a gun fired and hit her chest.

The thief gasped and stumbled back, her aura flickering around her. The guards closed in. Suddenly Emerald saw an image in her mind, an image so clear she could make out every detail. She saw herself jump on top of the box and leap onto a nearby roof, her momentum shooting the box forward into the center of the guards.

Looking at the guards, the thief knew she wanted them to see the same image. With a slight smile, she dropped her knife. As soon as it hit the ground Emerald ran. The guards cried in alarm and leaped to the side as she ran. Looking over her shoulder, the thief saw a ghostly image of herself leaping onto a roof and out of the alley. Somehow she knew the guards could see the same image, but as clear as she saw it in her head. She was invisible.

Moving out of the way she easily avoided the guards who were now chasing after a lie.

As soon as the guards were out of sight, Emerald oriented herself and began walking to the abandoned shop.

Lying on her back, Emerald stared as the box of ice Dust she has stolen. Sitting up she created a mental image of the Dust growing from the box as ice crystals. Grinning, she watched the ghostly image stretch upwards, exactly how she imagined.

With a semblance of illusion, her job would be almost too easy.

Emerald Sustrai lived in a world made of lies; it was only fitting her semblance created them.


	13. A Blackened Heart

**A Blackened Heart**

Mercury Black was on his hands and knees, blood dripping from his nose, his head pounding with a heartbeat. "Get, up," his father snarled. Shaking, Mercury stood and stared at his father's red face. Red from drinking. Red from anger. The boy's face was red with blood.

But Mercury didn't cry. In all the 12 years of his life, he had learned that crying only made life worse.

With a shout his father ran at him, fists swinging though the air towards the boy's face. Mercury ducked and avoided the attack at the last second. His head still swimming with pain, he tried to punch back, but his father grabbed his wrist, span him around and slammed Mercury against the wall. Mercury gave a small cry and his father pushed harder.

"What was that?" he snarled in his ear. He was so close Mercury could smell the alcohol in his breath. Mercury, his Aura gone, closed his eyes and felt splinters cut into his face as his check was pressed harder against the wall.

"When you attack, I expect you to attack. I expect you to act like a Black, not a sniveling child." Mercury's father pressed him hard enough to constrict breathing, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Y…Yes sir." Mercury stammered. Suddenly a fist slammed into his head, and the same time his father's hand released him. Mercury fell, his ears ringing. He lay on the floor, barely being able to hear his father leave the room.

The boy sat, rubbing his nose with his hand, feeling the warm blood. He knew his father hadn't left from pity; he had probably left because he had gotten bored at beating up his own son.

Unsteadily the boy put his hand on the wooden wall and stood, leaving a bloody handprint.

Mercury glared at the door through which his father walked. While his body burned with pain, his heart burned with hatred. _I expect you to be a Black_ his father's words echoed in his head. Mercury's hands curled into fists. _Not a sniveling child. _Anger pushed the boy to his feet. "I am not weak," he snarled.

The Black family line had always hid in shadows. Their dark work stretching farther back than anyone could remember. The work of assassins, of mercenaries, of killers. Mercury was expected to carry on that dark tradition.

With a scream of anger the boy slammed his fist against the wall. He was so sick of this endless cycle. His father, Marcus, would leave, sometimes for days or weeks on end, then he would stumble into the front door of this the rotting, crumbing house he called his own, smelling like alcohol, his hand or weapon covered in blood. He would drop his weapon and slam the door to his personal room closed and drink from the numerous bottles he had lying about. Mercury would clean the blood off his weapon, his hands shaking with hate. Hours later his father would stumble out of his room, and beat his son. Beat him until he was cold, angry, and as filled with hate as he was.

Countless times Mercury had imagined beating him just as hard, making him feel the hate that burned from his father's hands.

_Mistake, idiot, runt, useless, weak, _and now _sniveling boy_. Mercury laughed darkly, "He's the idiot. I _am_ a Black, and a Black is never weak." Every time he was hit, he just became stronger, smarter, more longing for revenge. A Black could only be pushed so hard before they pushed back. If only he has his semblance, he could fight back.

Mercury woke up on his 15th birthday, his body feeling bruised and broken as usual. Groaning he sat up and ran his fingers through his ash gray hair. He walked of out his small, dark room and into the small house's kitchen. Marcus was sitting on a chair, bottle in hand. The thick, toxic smell of alcohol hung in the air. Pushing down his gaze and his hate, Mercury pulled the cabinet doors open. He was about to grab a can of food when his father's hand slammed against his face.

Mercury stumbled back and stared in anger at his father's tight face. "I was just grabbing food!" he snapped. His father glared at him and took a few steps towards him. Fear thundered in Mercury's chest and he stepped back. His father's ice cold eyes penetrated into him. "Do I need to teach you respect _boy?" _He spat out the last word like a curse.

"N…no sir," Mercury stammered. "I…I forgot myself." Marcus grabbed his face. "No _boy_" he spat, "you forgot your place. This is _my_ house, and you are_ my_ son. You won't eat until you earn it. I was already making a living for myself at your age. And look at you, small, pathetic, weak. You are no more a Black now than you were as a _child." _Mercury screamed in rage and rushed forward, slamming his body against his father's. Both fell back, hitting the small, already broken table. Marcus grabbed his jacket and threw his son to the floor, then fell. Mercury swung his legs in a circle, hitting Marcus's feet and knocking him to the floor. Before Mercury could stand, Marcus was on top of him, hands pressed against his throat. Mercury gasped as his throat closed and the air was restricted. Marcus glared down at him. But Mercury wasn't finished, he slammed his fist unto his father's ribs, knocked him off. Both rolled to their feet at the same time.

"I am not a child!" Mercury screamed as he swung at his father again and again. With a sick smile Marcus avoided hit after hit. Grabbing Mercury's hand, he slammed his knee into his son's gut. Falling to the floor, Mercury cried out in pain. Marcus grabbed his son's face and forced him to his feet. Blood flung from his father's face.

"You are what I say _boy_. Don't forget it." Then he dropped him and walked away. Mercury stood, shaking. With a slight smile he rubbed the blood off his face. _Marcus Black is losing his touch,_ Mercury thought with scorn. _I'm getting stronger as he gets weaker. _

That night, Mercury woke as pain exploded on his side. His eyes flew open to see Marcus standing over him, his shirt wet with alcohol. Grabbing his son, Marcus flung Mercury to the floor. "Learn you're place _boy!" _Marcus shouted. "You are_ mine. _And until you are stronger, you will be nothing but a _weak little boy!" _ Mercury stared up at his father, shaking. His anger finally breaking.

"I. Am. _Not!"_ he screamed, leaping to his feet. "_I am not weak! I am Mercury Black! I don't care who you are! You are weak! When I have my Semblance I…" _

Marcus burst out laughing. "Semblance!" he shouted. "A Semblance is a crutch! People need it to feel stronger!" Slowly he pulled a gun from his back pocket. Mercury's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"Only the weak _need _their Semblance. Maybe without it, you'll finally become a Black."

The gun fired.

Pain slammed against Mercury's ribs, pushing him back. His Aura was almost gone. Before Mercury could stand, Marcus slammed one hand to his son's chest and head. His hands began to glow.

Suddenly the glow spread to Mercury.

Pain exploded thought his body.

Mercury screamed and tried to pull away but his father held him down. Agony seared his body. A black shadow seemed to grab his mind and cover it. A hole appeared in his mind, in his soul.

Slowly Marcus stepped back. Lying on the floor, Mercury gasped, his body empty of energy, feeling like something had been torn from him.

"What…what did you do?' he stammered.

"Taught you a lesson," Marcus snarled. "Your Semblance is gone. Now you can start acting like a Black."

Mercury stared at him.

Gone.

_Gone._

He could feel where it had been.

Mercury pushed himself to his knees. "Give it _back!"_ he screamed.

"I'll give it back when you prove it's not a crutch. When you're strong." Marcus then turned, and left his son's room, slamming the door. leaving the shaking, crying form of his son alone in the dark.

Mercury stood over the bleeding form of his father. He could feel the heat from the fire he had set behind him. His legs shook, screaming in pain. But he stood, he stood over the man who had tortured him throughout his life, stood over them man who stolen a part of his soul. He spat blood from his mouth, and stared down contemptuously at Marcus Black. "You called me weak my whole life _father_. But look around you! I am stronger than you, than you ever thought I could be! You are cowering on the floor, as I stand over you! How does it feel to know you were wrong? Give. Me. Back. What you stole."

Marcus smiled, blood dripping from his mouth. "Killing me doesn't make you strong. It just makes you a weak, desperate little boy still needing his Semblance to feel stronger."

Mercury Black dropped the dead body of what was one Marcus Black onto the floor, his body crying in pain, his legs shaking with agony. Blood dripped from his hands and down from his mouth. The hollow ache in his chest, the hole in his soul seemed colder and emptier than it ever had. His Semblance was sill gone. He had killed Marcus and it was still gone.HisHieqifwiohohviw

Suddenly he heard footsteps on the path. Panting, he looked up to see two women walking towards him. One was a beautiful woman with short, black hair, golden eyes and an air of power and pride. The second walked in the first's shadow; she had green hair and red eyes. She walked with weakness, cowering under the dark haired woman's shadow. Mercury snarled at them. _This should be interesting_ he thought.


End file.
